Dinner with my usual dining companion, Jane
It’s amazing really how many new restaurants are popping up in the city of Canberra. One new restaurant called ‘Tipsy Bull‘ I had never been to so one evening I walked into the city and met Jane for dinner. On its website, Tipsy Bull says it is great for a quick meal or a long night. It’s definitely a quick meal place; we booked early [6pm] but had to be out by 8pm and that definitely occurred as the bill was put on our table just before 8pm and the waiters were hovering by to get us out for the next group of guests to be seated. So for me that is definitely not a ‘long night’…but perhaps they mean if you eat later it’s a ‘long night’. But no way could I eat at 8pm; much too late for me – no matter where I am, I am an early eater!
Jane told me that a drink she had previously would look good on my post [she had been here before with her husband] and it was a deconstructed gin and tonic which came served on a wooden board with everything ready to make this particular drink…very cute actually. 
And this was the result when constructed – and delicious so Jane told me – pretty with the rose petals.
Jane and I decided to start off with a share plate of fresh bread and a selection of dips.
We then ordered a dish of dutch carrots with pistachio nuts and dukkah to share and I ordered a roasted pumpkin salad with candied walnuts, balsamic dressing and honey glaze – both delicious. I just love pumpkin!
Jane ordered the crispy fish with Korean chilli sauce and as she was still feeling hungry also ordered the lamb cutlets with a hazelnut pangrattato [I know now this is a posh word for Italian breadcrumbs] and caramelised shallots in a red wine jus. She didn’t think she would be able to eat all the cutlets but managed to..well done Jane!!
On this night we had so much fun as we arrived about 5pm [knowing we had to leave by 8pm] and over a drink, we wrote out a list of invitees for my retirement function in November..such fun…and not long until I retire!!!
And more to the point…who can afford them!!
London has so many different styles of buildings; Georgian being one. These types of homes have a signature semi-circular ‘fan light’ which is a window resembling an open fan above the door and usually has wrought iron somewhere as a feature.
Some of the buildings were, in my opinion, not as glamorous as others but still good to see and wonder who lived in them.
And others rather sweet, when walking through Hyde Park…
And when we stayed at the Airbnb near Kensington Gardens we were opposite a beautiful hotel with the same name as our dad ‘Byron’….thought that was a nice touch when we looked out the window and saw our dad’s name.
And how about the gorgeous pubs in London…decorated so beautifully with hanging pots of bright blossoms and then once inside you can either order a small glass of wine or large…love the choice.
One thing I did find a of a shame around London streets was the amount of household rubbish on the footpaths; clearly out there waiting for the rubbish man but the bags of rubbish would be put out at any time of the day and just sit there!!
A few months ago my friend Jane and I went to Melbourne for a long weekend [I have previously posted on our visit to the theatre and a French restaurant] where we went to a lovely Italian restaurant I had previously been to. Melbourne is known for its fabulous restaurants and Becco didn’t let us down. 
The restaurant is located in one of Melbourne’s lovely cobblestone streets and its interior has dim lighting in the evening making it rather difficult to take photos on my phone.
Jane ordered an entree of ceviche which was marinated in fresh lime juice with sliced onions and vegetables and a light cream and pesto sauce . She said this was absolutely delicious.
Jane then had the veal dish which was topped with sauted spinach with a white wine reduction.
One other Italian restaurant I have been to in Melbourne is Il Nostro Posto; a beautiful converted 19th century warehouse. 
I went to this restaurant when I was working in our office in Melbourne and as our group was large we were seated in the cellar area downstairs – a reasonable size room with two large tables, wood panelling on the walls and one original stone wall – just lovely!
I wanted to eat and drink relatively healthy being a weeknight, so had my obligatory sparkling mineral water but no wine on this evening and an entree of mixed roasted vegetables in a napoli sauce with lightly toasted bread and olive oil. The dish was delicious and I only ate one small piece of bread…a good evening for me health wise.
Another signature dish of the restaurant is the seafood pie; guazzetto in crosta, linguine pasta tossed with fresh seafood and chilli then topped with a lid of pizza dough and baked in the oven.
As I think everyone knows, NY is famous for its bagels; our friends told us about a lovely little shop just a ten minute walk from the apartment that sold the most delicious fresh bagels with all sorts of toppings; my favourite – egg salad with chives. Along the way we passed gorgeous buildings and flowering bushes; benefits of visiting in the spring.
We planned and paid for a lot of our NY day tours from Australia and one was a bus tour seeing the sights of both uptown and downtown. We chose the Big Bus Tour Company and from our friend’s apartment we walked to the bus stop and sat upstairs on the bus, which afforded us the opportunity to see the buildings and other sights without any obstructions – and of course there are so many colourful sights in NY…
And of course my (and I think many others’) favourite building – the iron building…or flat iron building – one of the two but I love it anyway!
And that glorious Empire State Building [which we did go up to the top…but more of the views on another post]
And then there is the famous Macy’s…we did a bit of shopping there and my friends bought so (so) many clothes and shoes whilst I think I only bought one item…just not in the mood for shopping!
The Trump Building is always good to see and we stopped off to take a look inside [before the current US President was elected] and then to Wall Street and a beautiful church just there in-between the high rise buildings of NY.
We went past the Brooklyn Bridge and one thing I regret is not walking it…maybe another time.
And one photo I took was of a lovely old building with a huge skyscraper in the background…bit mystical I thought!
I think the best way to see a city is either walk or take the hop-on-hop-off bus tour…the bus allows you to see all the famous sights within a day or two!
After finishing our drink, we walked over to the restaurant and met our friend Peter. The restaurant I chose was a new Indian in the local restaurant area. At Darbar Indian our table was reserved with a small blackboard with my name on it…rather sweet. But unfortunately within five minutes a large family group arrived; the size of the group is not the problem; it was the parents allowing their two children to run around and scream [a lot]. We were the only two tables in the restaurant and with parents not controlling their children it was pretty annoying.
There was plenty of dishes to order from the menu.
I ordered the masala dosai for entree after asking Jane and Peter if they would share with me as the waitress told me it was a pretty big serve. The dosai is a thin, crisp golden brown rice pancake rolled with spiced potato masala and served with coconut chutney and sambar. It tasted good albeit a little bit spicy.
Peter ordered the chicken chat pat an aged chicken marinated in spices, lemon juice and deep fried. It’s then tossed with curry leaf and fenugreek powder and coriander. It’s served with a lemon wedge and spanish onion.
Jane ordered the chef’s specialty which was called Jal Pari Hariyali – a marinated Tasmanian salmon fillet with tumeric,cashew paste, cumin and coriander powder with lemon juice and pan friend.
For my main dish I ordered the malia kofta; dumplings made from potato and cheese and tossed in a combination of curry leaves and mustard seeds then simmered in a Moghhlai gravy. This is a dish I always order at Indian restaurants. It was nice but not the best I had ever had. I am not too sure why it wasn’t that delicious, I think it was the sauce – not as creamy as others.
Peter ordered the chicken tikka dish to share with Jane. It was boneless chicken cubes that have been marinated in yoghurt, spices and smoke roasted. Pretty good they both said.
Jane ordered a goat curry for main course, again to share with Peter. It came diced and stewed in a medium spice and flavoured with onion, fenugreek seeds and fresh curry leaves. They both liked this dish too. 
Great company but a little spoilt by screaming children…probably won’t go back.
Whilst in London, I arranged for a day out with wonderful friends of mine; Jane, JP and Guy and they asked us to meet them at the London Eye to take a ride. I must say I was a little apprehensive about being so high up off the ground but wanted to go as the tickets were a treat from my friends. (I found out when we met that Jane is very concerned about heights so she had no intention of getting on – but I was so glad I did).
My friends had pre-booked the tickets (great idea as we didn’t have to line up) and then five of us went to board with Jane waiting at the outdoor coffee shop below. My nephew and Guy hit it off straight away and became best friends.
Up we go….and what wonderful views of London.
I was fine as long as I didn’t go too close to the large windows. 
We had lovely views of Big Ben which really is a spectacular.
We were so lucky to have such beautiful weather; skies were blue and we had perfect views of parliament, the Thames River and all the other great buildings of London.
We then enjoyed lunch at a lovely little cafe followed by a drink at a local London pub. My brother doesn’t drink but he wanted to have one beer at a Cockney pub in London…and whilst the pub was not owned or run by a ‘cockney’, it was nice to sit outside so my brother could tick off something on his bucket list.
And after we took a walk around the city where two lovely London ‘bobbies’ agreed to a photograph and a hat swap; great customer service!!
Truly was a wonderful day and my brother talked about how much he loved my friends and wished he could have spent more time with them – so we will have to return!!
Sue's Fabulous Travels 
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